A New Study Highlights\What Youth Need From Communities

By Dale A. Blyth, Ph.D. and Eugene C. Roehlkepartain
(From May 1992, Source Newsletter) Two communities in the Midwest. Both are small. Both have similar economic profiles. On the surface, the two seem quite similar. Yet, in one community, more than 40 percent of youth engage in at-risk behaviors such as heavy alcohol use, sexual activity, attempted suicide, and delinquent behaviors. In the other, only 28 percent do.

What is it about these two communities that leads to these differences? And what do the differences tell us about helping youth grow up healthy?

A forthcoming report from Search Institute titled Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth explores these questions. Sponsored by RespecTeen, a national program of Lutheran Brotherhood that promotes positive youth development, the study finds that certain community dynamics have a significant impact on at-risk behaviors among youth. Furthermore, it suggests that community-wide efforts are particularly important for supporting young people who are most vulnerable.

The new study builds on the findings of The Troubled Journey: A Portrait of 6th-12th Grade Youth, a Search Institute report issued by RespecTeen in 1990. But instead of focusing on individual students, it looks at dynamics in communities as a whole. Though the 118 communities in the study are from across the United States, most are small and midwestern (90 percent have populations under 10,000, and none is larger than 26,000). Despite the small size, the youth in these communities are not isolated from he problems that threaten youth in metropolitan areas.

To make comparisons, we identified the 28 communities where youth are most likely to engage in 16 at-risk behaviors (which we call "least healthy communities") and the 28 communities where they are unlikely to do so (which we call "healthiest communities"). We found that the differences were quite pronounced. For example: On one level, the study's findings aren't surprising. After all, most people understand that some communities are "better" than others for young people. On another level, though, the findings challenge some of the myths that guide thinking about young people. In many cases, these myths-which often lead to finger-pointing-have guided prevention efforts and policy debates in recent decades. Let's look at eight of these myths in light of this new report.


Myth #1: "Youth Are The Problem"

Though they may not say so directly, many people place full responsibility for problems on teenagers themselves. Kids just need to take responsibility, say no, and grow up. If they mess up their lives, its their own fault.

Yet our research joins a growing body of literature that argues that communities as a whole have a significant impact on these realities. As Karen J. Pittman of the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research has suggested, "In a large part, our youth are failing us because we are failing them." Too often we don't provide the kinds of community values, norms, and opportunities that encourage young people to develop healthy habits and avoid dangerous choices.

Dr. Richard Jessor of the University of Colorado at Boulder puts it this way: "Young people growing up in adverse social environments are in double jeopardy: not only are risk factors more intense and more prevalent in such contexts but protective factors are less available if not, indeed, absent for many."

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Myth #2: "Families Are To Blame"

If youth themselves aren't to blame for the problems, says conventional wisdom, it must be the family. Propagators of this myth note the breakdown of the traditional family, and they blame parents for not doing their job. If mothers would stay homes, if parents wouldn't divorce, if parents would retain their strong authority, the problems would be solved. Other people-government, social service organizations, and others-should stay out of the way.

There's some truth to this perspective. Families do play a pivotal role in helping young people grow up healthy. A strong, healthy family often insulates a young person from risky behaviors even in less healthy communities. Indeed, most researchers agree that caring and supportive relationships in a family are the strongest protective factors for children and youth.

At the same time, strong individual families do not, in themselves, make strong communities. Our research found relatively small differences in families between the healthiest and least healthy communities. In the healthiest communities, for example, 38 percent of youth experience caring and supportive families, compared to 34 percent in the less healthy communities.

Similarly, only small differences exist between basic family demographics in the healthiest and least healthy communities. The healthiest communities only have a slightly higher percentage of intact families than the least healthy communities (86 percent versus 81 percent). And, interestingly, the healthier communities don't appear to have higher standards of living. The median value of own-occupied homes and the cost of rent is actually higher in the less healthy communities ($48,000 versus $36,000).

These findings suggest that family strengths alone do not determine community health. As Minneapolis Mayor Don Frasier says, "You can't look at the family in isolation of the neighborhood." He argues that creating a nurturing environment for children should be a major community concern. A vibrant, connected neighborhood with parks, libraries, social services, and supportive neighbors can provide needed stability for families in stress, the mayor suggests.

All parts of a community must play a role if we are to protect all youthÑincluding those who do not have ideal family lives. While strong families certainly need to be supported, they shouldn't be left with all the responsibility. It's a burden they cannot and should not bear alone.

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Myth #3: "Schools Should Just Teach The Three R's"

As the nation has become alarmed about declining test scores, there are increasing calls for schools to "get back to the basics" and stop worrying about "non-essentials." Yet schools that create a healthy, challenging environment contribute significantly to healthy youth.

Our study found that the healthiest communities include schools where more students are motivated to achieve and where more feel cared for. Two-thirds of the students (65 percent) in the healthiest communities report that they are motivated and committed to achieve in school, and 51 percent say school staff are caring and supportive. In the least healthy communities, just over half the students are motivated, and only 43 percent think the staff are caring and supportive.

Thus, schools have a tremendous opportunity. "There is no single institution in our society that is capable of providing the range of services needed by adolescents at risk," writes Dr. Eli Ginzberg of Columbia University, "but the school probably offers the best positioned community resource on which to center comprehensive community efforts."

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Myth #4: "Youth Activities Are Optional"

After-school clubs, scout troops, youth groups, sports teams, and involvement in music are often thought of as fringe benefits for youth. When time or money gets tight, they're often the first thing trimmed from the calendar or the budget. This problem is particularly severe in urban schools where students often have few, if any, of these opportunities.

Given the potential power of these opportunities, such cutbacks are shortsighted. If anything, these activities need increased support and commitment from communities so that young people won't be idle in front of the television or hanging out on the street corner or in the shopping mall. These programs benefit the entire community, and ar as essential as more formal education and parallel to it. One of the characteristics of the healthiest communities is that young people have opportunities to be involved in constructive activities. In our study, 55 percent of 9th through 12th grade youth in the healthiest communities are involved in sports, extracurricular clubs, music, or other school- and community-sponsored youth activities. In the least healthy communities, only 39 percent of youth are involved. Though this study doesn't examine why this involvement is important, several factors may be at work. Return to top of page


Myth #5: "Churches Are Irrelevant"

In the first half of this century, congregations served as centers of community life. As this influence has waned in many parts of the country, youth-serving professionals have stopped looking to the religious community for support and input. Indeed, since the 1960s, many religious communities have been written off as out of touch or irrelevant to today's young people.

Yet this new report emphasizes that the religious community can play-and often does play-an important role in creating a healthy environment for youth. When congregations find ways to include more of a community's young people in their ministries, a community tends to be healthier. Our study found that 70 percent of youth in the healthiest communities are involved in church at least once a month, compared to 50 percent in the least healthy communities. (For more on the role of faith institutions in youth development see the February 1992 issue of Source.)

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Myth #6: "Peer Pressure Is The Problem"

For many people, negative peer pressure is a given during adolescence. Parents and other adults often assume that friends will lead their peers into trouble. But while negative peer pressure contributes to problem behaviors, it isn't inevitable.

In our comparison of the healthiest and least healthy communities, we found that youth in the healthiest communities experience much lower levels of negative peer pressure than those in the least healthy communities. Overall, 41 percent of students in the least healthy communities report negative peer pressure, compared to 27 percent in the healthiest communities.

How do healthy communities limit negative peer pressure? While we can't directly answer that question from the data, they do point toward possibilities. For example, if most of a teenager's friends are involved in positive youth activities, they're more likely to encourage positive choices. Similarly, if friends are committed to school and learning, they're less likely to pressure someone into future-compromising choices.

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Myth #7: "It's Not My Responsibility"

Some of the earlier myths hint at this one. Efforts to find scapegoats ultimately lead to this myth: It's not my responsibility; it's someone else's. But such a perspective is, at best, short-sighted and, at worst, dangerous. The Troubled Journey suggests that only one in ten young people meets a vision for healthy growth and development.

Through her work in the Youth-at-Risk project, researcher Joy Dryfoos estimates that one in four young people (7 million) have a low probability of growing up to become contributing, productive adults. She writes, "No society can flourish if one quarter of the youth are dysfunctional. . . . The American people have to take the responsibility for the outcomes for all children, not just their own."

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Myth #8: "There's Nothing I Can Do"

This last myth may be most damaging of all. When many people look at rising levels of problem behavior among youth, they feel overwhelmed. But this study has an important message: Yes, the problems are great. And yes, it will take concerted efforts to overcome them.

But there are things individuals and communities can do to help. There are healthy communities that do make a difference in young people's lives, and many of the contributing factors are within a community's control-if a community unites its energy and commitment to make the world a better place for young people.

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Selected Resources

Peter L. Benson, The Troubled Journey: A Portrait of 6th-12th Grade Youth (1990), Lutheran Brotherhood, available from Search Institute.

Dale A. Blyth, Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth (1992), Lutheran Brotherhood, available from Search Institute.

"Special Issue: Adolescents at Risk," Journal of Adolescent Health (December 1991), Society for Adolescent Medicine, 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010.

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